recommend.
What follows is our list of essentials. Don't think you have to
invest in everything right now. Start with what you have and add to
your collection as the need arises and your budget permits. We didn't
acquire all of our tools overnight.
For some products, I have listed specific sources for unusual or
hard-to-find tools, Don's and my favorite brands, and great buys. If I
haven't indicated a brand or store, check kitchen shops or the retail
stores in your area and on-line sources. Contact information for
stores/brands/catalogs/ is listed at the end of this chapter.
It also pays to search thrift stores, discount merchandise outlets,
garage and estate sales to find great tools (often seldom or never used)
for a fraction of the suggested retail cost. You might even stumble
across some fabulous freebies from friends and family members.
MISCELLANEOUS TOOLS
Some tools seem so obviously essential, yet you would be amazed
at how many people I meet who do not own sharp knives, cutting
boards, pots with lids, steamer baskets, or basic measuring devices.
Tools of the Trade
c
hapter
9

Chapter Overview
The kitchen tools you
use can be the difference
in creating a good recipe
and a great recipe. This
chapter outlines essen-
tial equipment that you
should have or should
add to your supplies as
money permits. ~102~
~The Garden of Eating~
~103~
Ch. 9 ~ Tools of the Trade
Stainless steel and wood tools are preferable to plastic; they're more
durable, safe for hot and cold items, and eliminate exposure to
harmful plastic chemicals.
Japanese Vegetable Knife: You'll never really
enjoy chopping or cooking until you have good
knives. Quality cutlery allows you to cut food
faster, more easily, efficiently, attractively, and
safely. You don't have to spend a fortune or buy
an entire set. One good Japanese-style vegetable
knife will do almost everything. We have used them
to cut fruits, nuts, meats, and awkward items, like
hard winter squashes, for more than 18 years.
They're durable, lightweight, and easy to wield.
Look for tempered stainless chrome-moly or
high-carbon surgical stainless steel with a 6 1/4-
to 7-inch long blade and 10- to 12-inch overall
length. Buy a knife with a wood handle and full-
tang construction. The latter will keep the knife
from coming apart.
Care: Do not put knives with wood handles in
the dishwasher, or drop sharp knives into a sink
or pan of dishwasher. Wipe a sharp knife with a
sponge, rinse, dry with a towel, and return to the
cutting board or designated knife drawer.
You're more likely to cut yourself with a dull
knife. Sharpen once a week with a rod, stone,
machine, or other appropriate device. Some meat
shops and kitchen shops will sharpen your knives
free or for a small fee.
Knife sharpeners: Most people have difficulty
using sharpening rods and standard steels without
dulling or damaging their knives. Sharpening
with a machine is an easier option. Non-electric
machines are inexpensive and easy to operate.
You run your knife between 2 tension-mounted
sharpening steels that simultaneously hone both
sides of the blade at the correct angle.
Knife Guards (sheaths): Plastic guards protect
your fingers and knife blades and are better than a
knife block that takes up too much space.
Meat cleaver: Use it to cut through bone and
cartilage when you chop a whole chicken into fryer
parts. Look for a sturdy and wide blade riveted into
a wooden handle. Wash by hand and towel dry.
Paring knife: Get 1 or 2 sturdy small knives
preferably with full-tang construction. Check with
shops and brands listed under best knives.
Kitchen shears: Open packages without dulling good knives. Cut
Best knives: 7" Hollow Henkel Ground
Santoku Knife (combination lightweight
cleaver and all-purpose chef knife) made
by Messermeister and sold through Kitchen
Classics, $68 to $90; Wusthof Santoku
and Henkel Santoku, $84.95 to $100 from
Williams Sonoma and Sur La Table.
NHS Professional Knife, $52.95; Japanese
Caddie Knife, $18 to $22; or Mac Superior
Knife, $46.95; from Natural Lifestyle
Supplies Mail Order Market, Gold Mine
Natural Foods, and Diamond Organics.
Great sharpeners: Chantry Knife Sharpener,
$42, from Kitchen Classics; Global Ceramic
Sharpener, $29.95, and Multi-Edge
Diamond Hone Sharpener, $39.95, from
Sur La Table; Chef's Choice Manual Knife
Sharpener, $30, from Williams Sonoma
and Sur La Table; Ceramic Knife Sharpener,
$19.99, from Chefs Catalog.
Great guards: 4" sheath, $1.57; 8" sheath,
$2.50; or The Knife Safe by Lamson Sharp
(comes in many sizes), from Broadway
Pan Handler, Kitchen Classics, and kitchen
shops everywhere. Prices vary with size.
Great cleavers: 8" Chinese Kitchen Knife
by Joyce Chen, $29.95; 8" Chinese Chef's
Knife by Dexter/Russel, $36.95; or Henckels
3-Riveted Pro S Cleaver, $49.95, all from
Cooking.com; Messermeister meat cleaver
$130 from Kitchen Classics.
Great paring knives: Mac paring knife,
4" blade, $11.95, from Natural Lifestyle
Supplies Mail Order Market, others available
from Williams-Sonoma, Sur La Table, and
Kitchen Classics.
Super shears: Henckels 8" Kitchen Shears,
$24.95; Henckels Twin Kitchen Shears with
Carbon Steel Blades, $39.95; or Diamond
Cut Multi-Purpose Kitchen Shears that
double as a nut cracker and bottle opener
and come with a lifetime warranty, $5.95,
Cooking.com or Aircore Inc.; Come-Apart
Shears, $19.99, Chefs Catalog. ~102~
~The Garden of Eating~
~103~
Ch. 9 ~ Tools of the Trade
dried fruits and fresh herbs. Slice raw or cooked poultry and meat
without dirtying a cutting board. Get heavy gauge carbon steel
suitable for right- and left-handed usewith thick handles and that
come apart for easy cleaning and sanitation.
Cutting board: Get one large, thick, sturdy wood cutting board
preferably 12x18x1-inchto leave on the counter for daily chopping
of vegetables, fruits, and nuts. Get a second wood
board with a drip tray for meat, poultry, and fish.
Wood boards are more attractive and durable and
they won't dull your knives as quickly as plastic
boards.
But aren't plastic boards more sanitary?
Although they have been touted as being more
sanitary, plastic cutting boards trap bacteria,
according to a study conducted by microbiologists
at the University of Wisconsins Food Research
Institute (Madison). "Tests proved that wood cutting
boards are actually so inhospitable to contaminants
like poultry and meat juices that bacteria disappeared from wood
surfaces within minutes. On the other hand, bacteria from the plastic
boards multiplied at room temperature." (Source: The Food Lovers
Tiptionary: An A to Z Culinary Guide with more than 4,500 Food and
Drink Tips, Secrets, Shortcuts, and Other Things Cookbooks Never Tell
You by Sharon Tyler Herbst, Hearst Books 1994)
Ceramic crocks: Keep frequently used tools in ceramic crocks on
your counter, one near the stove and the other near your workspace
for convenience. Lehmans Hardware & Appliances and kitchen
shops everywhere.
Mixing and serving spoons: Buy assorted sizes and shapes of
wood and metal spoons for mixing, mashing, and serving. Include
large and small ladles for soup, stew, sauces, and dressings, salad
spoons or tongs, and slotted spoons.
Wire whisk: Look for a small- and a medium-size stiff general-
purpose whisk, and a flat whisk for deglazing pans and making cooked
sauces. A French or balloon whisk is optional for vinaigrettes.
Spatulas: Get a sturdy metal spatula (pancake turner) for
turning burgers, steaks, or chops, serving eggs, etc. Include 1 slotted
stainless steel turner. Mini spatulas of the same design are optional.
Get at least 2 heat-proof rubber spatulas, one narrow, one wide, for
scraping food from saucepans, bowls, jars, blender, or food processor,
and a mini spatula to reach into small jars.
Vegetable scrub brush: A small, round, natural bristle brush for
cleaning vegetables will cost you a few dollars at most from Natural
Lifestyle Supplies or GoldMine Natural Foods.
Vegetable peeler: A new U-shaped peeler with a thick handle
for speed and ease of use is great for cucumbers, apples, turnips,
rutabaga, beets, nubby looking carrots, etc.
Apple corer: Quickly core apples for Total Juice, baked or dried
Better boards: 16"x12"x1" board, $18, from
Crate & Barrel;11"x16"x34" hardwood board,
$14.95 and 13"x19"x34" inch hardwood
board, $19.95, from Natural Lifestyle
Supplies; 18" square x 234" deep heavy-duty
board with neoprene-padded feet to prevent
slipping, $99.99 from Chefs Catalog. More
options available at Cooking.com and
kitchen shops everywhere.
Cutting Board Care
Do not soak wood boards
or put them in the
dishwasher. Clean with a
sponge or dishcloth and
citrus-based dish soap
or all-purpose cleaner
and water, then wipe
with a towel. Regularly
saturate the board with
olive, coconut, or block
oil. Allow oil to soak in
overnight to moisten
wood and prevent warp-
ing and cracking. ~104~
~The Garden of Eating~
~105~
Ch. 9 ~ Tools of the Trade
apples, compotes, and fruit leather. Look for a thick ergonomic
handle.
Pastry br